“Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many; the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden.” -
– The Phaedrus, written by Plato
Creepy Optical Illusion by ~cchasecal on deviantART
not so many years ago,, i was working as a waitress in a small, family owned, diner style, restaurant. living in a tiny basement studio,, and squandering my meager income on frivolities like food and basic utilities.. at that precise moment in history, the country in which i live, was spinning like a brightly colored child’s top, giddy with delusions of grandeur made possible by the boom in the housing market, the introduction of sub prime loans, the staggering rate at which property values were soaring..
meanwhile,, i was standing there,, in a dirty apron,, coffee pots hanging off both my thumbs saying.. ” i give it five years,, and this whole thing will implode.. the market will be flooded with foreclosures, displaced families, bankruptcies, and as a result an explosion of homeless people,, (many of them the the same young families and greedy investors that were here in being blinded by the possibility of finally being able to ace what we have been raised to believe was, “the american dream….” ) that we are in no way equipped to care for, will be flooding our streets and overburdening our social service institutions..”
i cannot tell you how many times, since then, i have stated, either aloud in conversation, or in private to myself,, “how come i,, a lowly diner waitress,, with barely a high school education was able to see that??” “how is it that the financiers, bankers, economists, politicians, government officials,, people we would ordinarily expect to be able to ‘foresee’ our financial futures, not only allowed something like that to happen,, but in many cases jumped on the soon to be sinking bandwagon themselves??”
the only answer i can, to date come up with, is that i was not in a position to glean any of the purposed riches that would surely follow closely on the shirttails of such a windfall of real estate investments.. i was not blinded by the possibilities.. my situation left no room for the entertainment of such delusions of grandeur and thus my field of vision was impossible to misdirect..
on several occasions over the course of my maintaining this blog,, i have written in both my poetry and my prose about the misdirection of focus i see going on… ( homeless, distraction, food fight, sleight of hand, “sustain me!”) so, why am i still so amazed that when these illusions are pointed out,, that the majority of people will,, much like cattle being led to the slaughter,, rally to the defense of that which has been purposely put in place to delude them,, in lieu of pulling back the blinders and having another look??
i am not a person given to unfounded feelings of paranoia.. i do not prescribe to any vastly ornate conspiracy theories… i am not a believer in evil forces, manchurian candidates, or things that go bump in the night… i am far from highly educated,, and not even as creative as some of you might like to think… but for some reason, one that remains devastatingly outside of my own control, i am blessed with being able to see what is going on right in front of me..
my fascination with pointing things out to you as i see them,, is in no way driven by a desire to convert you to my way of thinking.. i don’t even have a way of thinking to convert to.. rather my objective is to plant the seed of discovery.. to get you to question what you do see.. to point you in a direction that might allow you to become willing to see, that which has been put in place solely to misdirect you from that which you should not be seeing.. and to wonder,, if only over the course of this one day, if what you are focusing on is whats really important,, or have you thru no real fault of your own,, been misdirected….
September 19th, 2008 at 8:27 am
i love phaderus
have a great weekend jones
September 19th, 2008 at 9:08 am
My goodness, yes…creepy optical illusion indeed. I have to admit, I do pay attention to politics, and having read your post below, I see the same sort of mockery of our intelligence being “played” by the government being discussed in both…truly sad…maybe I have some grandiose idea of JFK, and even Jimmy Carter for that matter, for I was not around when JFK was, and I was only a youngun’ when Carter was…but I wish we still had some of those “innocent” types still running around Washington…
as Ferlinghetti said, “I am perpetually awaiting a rebirth of wonder.”
September 19th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Look at the bonuses all the CEO’s of the big businesses are always giving themselves! They’re the ones who drove their companies into the ground! Good old-fashioned greed!
September 19th, 2008 at 9:32 am
The implosion of the financial world did not surprise the active participants because they are gamblers by nature and know that you win some you lose some. The sub-prime fiasco was a recipe for disaster but when you have your golden parachute are packed you don’t mind jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.
The most helpful thing that can come out of this will be empowering stockholders and regulating CEO salaries…which have gone up from 30X the average worker’s wages to over 300X in just 3 decades.
if left unchecked, this outrageous avarice will kill your country…which already owes Trillions of $ to China. If the big money leaves American soil it won’t be coming back. any time soon..eerily reflecting the demise of the British Empire a Century ago.
Empires come and go, and almost always crumble from within. Wall Street has been shorting the Future for a few decades..this time, they may have actually killed the golden goose.
September 19th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
very astute - i agree that much of the current crisis is that americans are simply bad at math, expect “something for nothing”, and have cultivated a sense of entitlement that would embarass any member of a previous generation…
why didn’t the financeers see it? simple. they made money on it… lots, and lots of money for nothing.
September 19th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Paisley, I was drawn to your website from the very first time I chanced upon it. I recognized in you, somewhat, my clone. Holly D, should you read this: I remember JF Kennedy clearly. America had a right to be proud of itself under his leadership, and Carter? A truly good man who should have left his Christian beliefs at home before heading for the Oval Office. Offering the Shah of Iran the expertise of American surgical skill, angered the fundamental Iranians resulting in the taking of hostages. Reagan’s promise to sell weapons to Iran gained the hostages’s release. The release of the hostages propelled Reagan into the Oval Office.
September 19th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
When the primary reason for a Home becomes the financial drive behind it.. it is no longer a home..
you were right..and I watched this whole thing with trepidation…and I am not entirely surprised..
September 19th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
some illusions aren’t easily seen by the lack of common sense…you have common sense
they didn’t
what a cool picture, I love those kind of pictures!
September 19th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
With any luck, people will slow down, pay attention, and come to the same conclusions you did years ago — that you cannot build without a foundation — and we will not repeat this mistake again. Unfortunately–right or wrong–I fear that something new will come along to make people forget, and individuals such as yourself will continue to be the minority.
September 20th, 2008 at 3:06 am
Once upon a time a house was simply a place to live in. Then it became a form of currency. Buying, selling and speculating became a business and all part of a society fuelled by greed. No surprise therefore that it’s all ended in tears.
That picture is great. Thanks for introducing me to deviantArt by the way!
September 20th, 2008 at 4:52 am
Me……….I like your way of thinking……it’s outside the square………..
September 20th, 2008 at 4:58 am
America needs a good spanking right now…we have allowed this to happen right under our noses, as we have skipped along thinking all was good in the land of ‘Nod’, while the crooks are robbing us blind at every turn and you think this wasn’t planned…the dumbing of America…
sharon
September 20th, 2008 at 7:44 am
paisley,
From the birth of man, from the Middle Ages to today there has always been charletons, gamblers, and practioners of slight of hand. The bottom line is that products and deals were presented as too good to be true, or as entitlements, i.e. everyone deserves the “American Dream”. Hard work and personal responsibility are down played or ignored altogether. A mentality of; if J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Donald Tump can have it, why can’t I, pervades our society. Today’s shysters play on those beliefs and lure us away from common sense and into catstophic deals. Gov’t has always portrayed themselves as the protector of the “people.” Is it any wonder that when our own actions cause us fiscal downturns that we cry HELP to the feds?
Growing up, my parents taught me the tenets that had been instilled in them by their parents and grandparents: Don’t borrow money unless you can gaurantee that you can pay it back in a timely manner. (Remeber B. F.’s Poor Richard here; Neither a borrower or a lender be.) Live within your means. If you want more; work hard, get an education, and be industrious.
I agree with DaiseyFae and Donnnnn.
When we stop looking for something for nothing, and elect politicians who advocate taking responsibility for ourselves and stop promising everyone the “Dream”, only then can we pull ourselves out of this morass.
rel
September 20th, 2008 at 8:14 am
You are, without a doubt the most switched on person I know. I admire you greatly for your percipience. If only there were more people like you in this mixed-up world we wouldn’t be in such a state. XXX
September 20th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
The idea of thinking we think outside the usual box is so much more appealing than actually doing it. Sometimes I think the prospect of reinventing America is so daunting that we give up and jump from the window only to land on political platitudes and other forms of foolishness.
I learn more about the world and about thinking with the help of other bloggers.
So thanks.
September 20th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Most see what they wish too, what doesn’t challenge what they already believe or are told to believe, and of course
if one is getting fat with money or power or entitlement, the blinders are carefully self-adjusted, as often as necessary.
September 21st, 2008 at 11:42 am
this made me think if two cliche’s….
“what goes up, must come down”
(an usually CRASHES down)
and
the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
(like CEO giants)